Information Technologies & International Developmenthttp://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid
<em>Information Technologies &amp; International Development</em> is an interdisciplinary open-access journal that focuses on the intersection of information and communication technologies (ICTs) with the "other four billion" – the share of the world population whose countries are not yet widely connected to the Internet nor widely considered in the design of new information technologies.USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalismen-USInformation Technologies & International Development1544-7529

The Making of Survival. Technology, Literacy, and Learning in Two Microenterprises in Mexico&nbsp;Cityhttp://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/1578
<p>This article presents a portrait of how the owners of two informal microenterprises in a poor urban neighborhood integrate several digital devices into their businesses. We explore how they learned to use diverse technologies, transformed their production processes, and developed new products and services. We contend that while ICTs did not lead to expansion for the businesses, ICTs were vital to staying in business.</p>Judy KalmanOscar Hernández2018-02-142018-02-1414End-User Engagement in the Design of Communications Services: Lessons from the Rural Congohttp://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/1583
<p><em>End-user engagement is considered essential when designing new sociotechnical systems, but in the context of designing large-scale infrastructural systems such as communications networks, this ideal is rarely put into practice. We examine the challenges of engaging end users in the design of communications services by exploring how communities from 15 villages in the rural Congo incorporate mobile phones into their daily lives. To analyze the changes in social and cultural capital that result from mobile phone use, we apply Bourdieu’s capital theory. This analysis exposes the difference in perceived value of the communication services between end users and the business owners of the infrastructure. The article concludes by suggesting new forms of partnership with end users to craft ways in which infrastructures and related organizations and practices can best cohere with local cultural views, specifics, beliefs, needs, or realities of concerned participants.</em></p>Donna ChampionSylvain Cibangu2018-01-172018-01-1714Gender, Mobile, and Mobile Internet| Gender, Mobile, and Development: The Theory and Practice of Empowerment — Introductionhttp://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/1555
<p class="Normal1"><em>This introduction to the Special Section sets out the rationale for our focus on gender, mobile, and mobile Internet. We explain our aims in planning a dedicated section and introduce each of the four selected articles across different country contexts. We examine how these articles juxtapose the theory and practice of empowerment. Finally, w</em><em>e raise issues with the way that empowerment is used and applied in ICTD work and we draw on Cornwall’s framework to support our view that</em><em> access for women (an often-used variable) is not always accompanied by changes in law, policy, or men’s and women’s consciousness or practices; therefore, access does not de facto lead to empowerment. It is this space that we believe needs further exploration. A focus on access and digital literacy for women, while important, is not in itself a sufficiently meaningful criterion for empowerment through mobiles and mobile Internet.</em></p>Savita BailurSilvia MasieroJo Tacchi2018-03-072018-03-0714Gender, Mobile, and Mobile Internet| Mother, May I? Conceptualizing the Role of Personal Characteristics and the Influence of Intermediaries on Girls’ After-School Mobile Appropriation in Nairobihttp://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/1557
<p><em>Education interventions for girls in the Global South often seek to expand their present and future life choices. Increasingly, this goal is pursued by enhancing preexisting mobile phone access. Girls’ personal characteristics, particularly their age and gender, and adult intermediaries influence their mobile appropriation—and the outcomes they can realize when using their phones for any reason. Drawing on data from research with community members of a girls’ secondary school in Nairobi, this article seeks to understand how girls’ mobile appropriation during after-school hours is shaped. Building on Kleine’s Choice Framework as a capability approach operationalization, a schema is proposed to conceptualize additional considerations needed when engaging girls in mobile for development work. The aim is to demonstrate how and why girls’ after-school mobile use was influenced by the convergence of intermediaries in their lives, age, and gender. The analysis presents implications for mobile for development interventions with girl children.</em></p><p><em><br /></em></p><p><em><br /></em></p>Ronda Zelezny-Green2018-03-072018-03-0714Gender, Mobile, and Mobile Internet| Maintenance Affordances, Capabilities and Structural Inequalities: Mobile Phone Use By Low-Income Womenhttp://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/1556
<p class="firstpara" align="left"><em>This article shows the impact of “maintenance affordances” on women’s capabilities to use mobile phones to lead lives they value. Analysis of data from a qualitative study of mobile phone use by 30 young low-income women—including 15 who had no access to the Internet other than through their mobile phones—shows how maintaining mobile phones through charge, credit, and repair is a significant burden. These challenges were inextricably bound up with structural inequality experienced by respondents such as poor employment conditions and unaffordable housing. This study therefore proposes a new theoretical framework combining affordances and the capability approach, in which the maintenance affordances of a technology are seen to impact directly on individuals’ capability to use this resource to lead lives they value. </em></p>Becky Faith2018-03-072018-03-0714Gender, Mobile, and Mobile Internet| Kenyan Women’s Rural Realities, Mobile Internet Access, and “Africa Rising”http://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/1595
<p><em>The term “Africa Rising” is used in popular and academic discourse to describe economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Increased mobile phone ownership and access to the Internet figure prominently in this optimistic narrative. However, aspects of this story are being questioned, in particular whether this economic growth benefits Africa’s rural areas. </em><em>In this article, we extend this critique to the optimism surrounding access to the mobile Internet by detailing rural women’s experiences with mobile devices.</em><em> Drawing on data from our long-term fieldwork in Western Kenya, we describe how secondhand handsets, misinformation about social media, and gendered allocations of time constrain women’s access to the mobile Internet. </em><em>We then discuss how the materiality of mobile phones, seasonal changes, and other factors must be considered when developing technological interventions in rural areas.</em><em> We conclude that rural women’s lived realities merit more attention within growth narratives about Africa.</em></p>Susan WycheJennifer Olson2018-03-072018-03-0714Gender, Mobile, and Mobile Internet| Understanding the Darker Side of ICTs: Gender, Sexual Harassment, and Mobile Devices in Pakistanhttp://itidjournal.org/index.php/itid/article/view/1558
<p><em>Much research and practice on gender and digital technologies focus on the potential of ICTs to empower women positively. However, ICTs also have negative impacts on women as well as men. This article explores such implications<br />in the context of mobile device use in Pakistan. While digital harassment is commonplace globally, its extent in Pakistan is interesting because of the country’s strong normative values and the complexity of the intersection of patriarchy,<br />religion, and culture. We report on an online survey that examines the inºuence of personal characteristics on perceptions and experiences of sexual harassment through mobile devices. We conclude that some conventional stereotypes<br />may be misleading.</em></p>Bushra HassanTim UnwinAkber Gardezi2018-03-072018-03-0714